To Clip the Bud Before It's Bloomed
by Amashelle
Summary: Chris is back in his own time, and adjusting is turning out harder than he thought. In the meantime, a strange man seems to be offering the charmed ones help- is his offer really what it seems to be?
1. Chapter One

Note: This is set before The Courtship of Wyatt's Father, but might also contain a few spoilers from the episode. Also, it may seem sort of confusing at first because there are two sides of the story and _one_ of them is not all it seems to be…

****

He was tired, tired of the endless battles, the daily arguments within himself. Nobody could have known how hard it was to listen to his parents go on each day, not even knowing he was their son. On the better days, he could almost believe that they could see something in his eyes, some hint of the bond they shared. But those were only the better days, and he could never quite fall for the dream.

It was easier now that his aunts knew his little secret, but he was still the outsider. He was still the one who didn't quite belong.

The sound of the traffic below was almost inaudible over the wind, but Chris sat sturdily on the upper cross-bars of the San Francisco bridge. His dad had been right, it was easy to think up here, and it certainly beat staring up at the ceiling of a room that wasn't even his yet.

A shimmer of light interrupted his thoughts. At first, he thought it was his dad, come to give him some unasked for (though not unwelcome) advice, but the dirty blond hair was too long and the face was unshaven.

Chris nearly fell off of his perch he was so startled. Standing quickly, he tried to back away from the new arrival, only to find that he had nowhere to go; the thought of orbing never occurred to him.

'Hello little brother,' Wyatt greeted.

__

`

****

Even the wind seemed to have gone silent. Chris could hear nothing but the terrified beating of his own heart. He had never been so scared- nor had he ever been so angry. This man, this demon who called him brother had killed everyone he had ever cared about.

And now he stood there, smiling like the brother he had never been.

'Chris, what's wrong?' the older boy seemed genuinely confused, but it was not long before some form of realization hit him. 'We were afraid this might happen, Chris, you did it, you can come home now, back to where you belong.'

'What are you talking about?' He could feel the fear slipping away from him, but the anger was still there.

'I've come to take you home, little brother, our family is waiting for you- mom and dad are so proud!' Wyatt held out a hand to his now completely confused brother.

'How do I know this isn't a trick?'

'You'll just have to trust me.'

Hesitantly, Chris reached out and took the proffered hand. In a silent shimmer of slue, both figures were gone.

*

Phoebe sat down at her desk, cluttered as it was with letters, papers, pens and memos. She picked through the first layer of junk, then stopped. 'God I need to get this sorted out.' She muttered.

It was at this moment that she noticed the young woman sitting on a stool by the door, though it was another second or two before she got over her surprise.

'What are you doing in my office?' Asked the witch.

The girl stared at her for what seemed like forever before answering. Her expression was one Phoebe couldn't even begin to read, and the waves of emotions coming from her were even more confusing.

'Beware the familiar stranger who comes in the night,' she began, cryptically. 'For he bears nothing but death in his gift-laden arms.' Her eyes were slowly glazing over with a deep shade of blue. 'The son returns to clip the bud before it's bloomed.' She continued, even as her body went stiff. She began to shake violently in some sort of seizure.

'Chris!' Phoebe yelled, not caring if her co-workers overheard her and confirmed the rumors of her insanity. 'Chris, get your butt down here!'

But is was Leo, not Chris, who materialized in the corner of the room.

'What is it?' he asked, apparently not seeing the obvious problem.

'Help her,' Phoebe ordered, but even as Leo stepped towards her, a column of blue light appeared behind her and, before the being's features could be made out, it encompassed the girl and disappeared.

'Leo, what the hell just happened here?'

*

The house was almost exactly as he remembered it. The front room Wyatt had brought him to was just as bright, just as welcoming as it had ever been. And, though there were no witch-detectors or museum tape, Chris knew that this was his time. A time where his older brother really was older than him.

'Chris?' He turned slowly to see his mom standing there, her expression no longer the resigned familiarity that she always had in the past, but one of love. It was the same expression he had seen her use when she looked at baby Wyatt, one he had wished she would have sent his way on more than one occasion.

'Mom,' he didn't trust himself to say more. He didn't want to look weak in front of his brother, not after all he'd just gone through.

Piper, his mom, stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a loving hug. He felt tears soaking into his shirt. His mom was crying.

'Hello Chris,' Over Piper's shoulder, he caught sight of another familiar face.

'Bianca,' it was only by shear strength of will that he kept himself from breaking down, and the warm salty droplets that tickled his shoulder were no help at all.

And, suddenly, it was his fiancée who held him close. 'I knew you could do it,' she whispered as his mom wiped her eyes dry.

'Yes, little brother,' Chris felt Wyatt's hand on his damp shoulder. 'You finally proved yourself the hero.'

Chris smiled at this. Yes, he'd finally proven himself to the only person he'd ever needed to convince…

'Alright, come on, I've got a potato casserole in the oven- your favorite, Chris, and I know of a few others who are eager to welcome you home.' Piper announced, taking charge as she was bound to do in those situations.

'Yeah, like us,' Bianca backed away to give his Aunt Phoebe a chance to hug her nephew, Paige was just behind her.

'Now,' Paige said, looking him square in the eye, 'Who's your favorite aunt?'

Chris' eyes darted between the two. 'If you wanted me to say it's you, you shouldn't have asked the question,' he replied, smiling.

Phoebe grinned. 'That's my nephew!'

Paige nodded, approvingly, then patted him on the head. 'I know you meant me,' she whispered.

'Hey, I heard that!' Phoebe complained, lightheartedly.

'Good.' Paige replied.

'Okay, enough.' Piper cut in. 'Go set the table, you two.' She turned to her son and smiled lovingly. 'I am so proud of you…'

The doorbell rang, and Wyatt let to go get it. 'That'll be Kirra,' he informed them off handedly.

'I'm… I'm going to go check on the casserole, leave you two alone for a few moments.' Piper smiled again and slowly backed out of the room.

Chris wrapped his arms around the young woman who had helped him through so many ordeals, then Wyatt's words came back to him. 'Hold on, Kirra… Kirra's dead, isn't she?'

'A lot of things have changed,' Bianca replied solemnly. 'It may take you some time to get used to it all.'


	2. Chapter Two

I'd like to thank the following people for their reviews, *smile*: Freed Kyes, X3, k, The Proud Canadian (go Canada! We probably have more in common that we know), Shaz, and Sci fi fan Gillian. This quick update is just for you seven.

Leo and Phoebe appeared in the attic of the mansion, but neither of Phoebe's sisters were home.

'Where's Chris, anyway?' Phoebe asked with sudden curiosity.

'Well, that's a good question.'

'You mean you don't know?'

'That about sums it up.'

'How can you not know? You're an elder for Christ's sake!'

Leo stared at her for a long moment, this sudden obsession with Chris' whereabouts making him wonder if he'd missed anything important. 'Early this morning he just sort of dropped off of the map.' He explained.

'And you're not the least bit worried, are you? God, Leo, he's your- he's our whitelighter!'

'We're doing everything we can to find him, but in the meantime I'll be in charge of you three.' He paused. 'Since when do you care so much? You don't even trust him!'

'Things change!' she found herself yelling at him. _Okay, calm down._ She ordered herself. 'Leo… go find out which whitelighter it was who took the girl. We need to know what happened.'

'Yeah, sure.' And he was gone without another word.

'Now,' Phoebe muttered into the empty room, 'Time to find Paige and tell her we may have a problem.'

Chris had been worried that his parents might never get around to conceiving him, could they have run out of time? Phoebe could only hope he hadn't disappeared because of that.

*

There were eight of them gathered around the table, Piper's casserole sitting in the center, hot steam billowing off of its warm surface. Chris looked around at the familiar faces, some of which were not as familiar to him as their owners would have liked. Phoebe's daughter, Penelope, for instance, kept glancing over at him expectantly.

'You really don't remember me, do you?' She asked suddenly as she helped herself to some vegetables.

Chris squirmed under her brown gaze. 'No. In my timeline, you never existed.' He confessed.

'I think I like this timeline better.' She announced. At 16, she certainly hadn't lost her child-like innocence.

'Yeah,' Chris agreed, 'me too.' Even as he said this, his eyes made their way over to Kirra, who was sitting at the far end of the table. Bianca scowled, but he didn't notice. They didn't realize that, in his past, he'd seen Kirra die, hit by an energy ball. It was one thing to meet people you never knew existed, but to see someone alive and talking was most disconcerting.

All in all, he was beginning to realize one harsh fact. He'd changed so much that he would always be the outsider, the one who didn't really belong.

'Chris?' It was his mother, fussing. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, yeah I'm fine, just a little… off balance.'

'Maybe we shouldn't have had this party,' she muttered. 'You need time to adjust and we just got so excited that we threw it all into your lap…'

'Yeah, we're sorry,' Phoebe agreed with her sister. 'If you wanted to leave, get some rest, we'd understand.'

'Maybe that really is for the best. I'll… I'll see you all in the morning.' He pushed his chair back from the table and stood up.

'Oh, in case you've forgotten, your room is the one that used to be mine.' Paige called after him as he left the room.

'Thanks, glad to see some things are the way I remember them.'

He walked slowly up the stairs, glancing back only once, in time to see his mom stop Bianca from following him up. He hated to admit it, but he was glad she did. He didn't want to talk to any of them for the time being, he just wanted to rest.

The room was not filled with the low-cut dresses and makeup that Chris would have recognized as Paige's, but nor was it filled with the X-men comics, gameboys or dirty socks that would have decorated his floor as a child. However, he could associate it with the room he had kept above P3, posters, CDs he hadn't listened to in who-knows-how-long, papers, pens, books, all the things a normal guy his age should have had.

It also hadn't been cleaned in a really long time.

'God, I'm a pig.' he muttered, stepping over the junk to the bed (which was the only clean thing in the room, no doubt his mom had come in and made it specially for his return). He carelessly let himself fall onto the soft, bouncy mattress and stared up at the ceiling for a few, long moments. _Finally, something completely familiar._ He thought, the rolled over on his side to be greeted by the sight of his bookcase.

The bottom shelf was full of journals. _2013, 2014, 2015…_

'Jackpot!' Chris crawled to the end of the bed, then glanced at the treacherous floor that lay between him and the bookshelf; it did not look like something he wanted to step on. So, of course, he did what any other person would do, he stretched until he could just reach the shelf and then just a little more until he could pull one of the journals from its perch.

'Gottcha.' It was one of the later ones, which suited him just fine. Making himself comfortable on the bed, he opened the book and began to read. After all, it couldn't hurt to get caught up on his past.

But the pages were blank, aside from having his name written on the first page, there was nothing what-so-ever to read. 'Dammit!' And he threw the book across the room. 'Why couldn't I have actually done something with those?'

*

Paige had been staring at the map of San-Francisco for so long, she was going cross-eyed. The crystal she had been using to scry for her youngest nephew continued to swing back and forth across the map, not even leaning towards a certain direction.

'This is useless!' She suddenly exclaimed and threw up her hands in defeat, accidentally letting go of the crystal and sending it flying through the air. Fortunately, Leo orbed in at that moment and, as it nearly hit him in the head, caught it. 'Oops.' Paige muttered as her former whitelighter crossed the room and put it down on the table.

'Who were you scrying for, anyway? Is Piper missing?' The sudden concern in his voice made Paige smile internally. _Hear that, Chris, there's hope for you yet._

'Piper's fine, she took Wyatt to the park. They'll be back eventually.' Phoebe informed him.

'Oh, so who were you looking for?'

'Chris, who did you think?' Paige snapped, the hours she'd spent scrying to no avail making her irritable.

Leo stared. 'You too? What's gotten into the two of you? Why this sudden interest in Chris' safety?'

'You mean to say that he might be in danger!' Paige concluded.

'No, I don't mean that at all, I…'

'You can't tell you you're not even a little worried, can you?'

'Sure I am, but there's nothing we can do that isn't already being done.'

'Okay people, we have work to do. Leo, what did you find out?' Phoebe cut in, not wanting to go over this argument again and have certain things slip out that really should remain a secret for the time being- like her nephew's parentage.

Leo sighed. 'Not much. The whitelighter who took your mystery woman wasn't recognized by anyone I was able to talk to. I don't think he's really one of us.'

'Then how was he able to orb?' Phoebe demanded. She was tired of not having the answers she wanted.

'What if he was a witch, like me?' Paige suggested, but Leo shook his head.

'I don't think so, somebody would have known. If it was a witch, he or she would have had a charge, especially if they were practicing.'

Down stairs, the front door opened and closed, followed by Piper's voice. 'Hello, is anybody home?'

'We're upstairs!' Phoebe called down

'Well come down here, there's somebody I want you to meet!'

The three of them shared a look before Paige shrugged and headed for the door.

Downstairs, Piper was sitting down on the couch next to a strange man with long, wavy blond hair. In his arms, Wyatt was sleeping peacefully.

'Guys, I'd like you to meet Patrick, Patrick, these are my sisters, Paige and Phoebe, and Wyatt's father, Leo, who I would ask what he's doing here but won't for the sake of trusting that it's a good reason.'

Paige and Phoebe stared at their sister; they'd never quite seen her be so out-right rude to Leo, who nodded. 'I was just leaving,'

'Oh, wait, I suppose I should tell you that Patrick here will be looking after Wyatt when I can't be around so you'll have more time for your 'elder' duties.'

'What, Piper, I thought we agreed…'

'Yes, well, things change.'

'I am really getting sick of that comment.' He muttered. 'What about Wyatt's... talents?'

'You mean powers? Oh, Patrick knows all about that sort of stuff. His family was big on the whole 'witch' stuff, right Patrick?'

'Yes, that's right.'

'Great, so, you can take Wyatt up and put him to bed, okay?'

The man only nodded and walked over to the stairs.

'Isn't he great?' Piper asked. 'He's the perfect babysitter for Wyatt.'

'Hold on, I thought Leo was the perfect babysitter?' Phoebe countered.

'Yes, well, he is, but he can't be around all the time, can he?'

Leo shrugged sadly and orbed out.


	3. Chapter Three

You all seemed to like the journal bit, that makes me happy, and it is important for later on, though I don't think any of you figured out how... Okay, thanks to: Angie, Chub, Sci Fi Fan Gillian, balooie (No, I'm not going to make Patrick be a blond-version of Aragorn, sorry, but it just doesn't fit.). Shaz (I thought the that little bit might be a welcome bit of humour.), Bluie Twilight Star, the proud Canadian, Laheara (You three are all closer than you might think to knowing what is about to happen, especially you, Laheara.), Rachael, goldstranger, X3, Magical Princess. This chapter is, of course, for all of you.

Oh, and one more thing, it just occurred to me that things might work better if this was set _after_ 'The Courtship of Wyatt's Father'- only without the last few minutes, and without Leo's decision to leave (obviously). It sets a better balance. Not that any of this means anything, I just wanted to let you all know.

Now, on with the story.

****

The morning dawned early, the sunlight shining in through Chris' window; shining on a clean floor, a tidy, organized bookshelf, and an exhausted and unsatisfied youth. He'd spent the night cleaning, searching desperately for the memories from a past that he'd never lived. He now lay on the undisturbed, tartan quilt that covered the bed, staring up at a ceiling that was far to familiar considering he was at the far end of a timeline he wouldn't have known if it had hit him in the face.

__

It did hit me in the face. He reminded himself, almost bitterly. _And at full speed._

A hesitant knock came at his door, followed by his mom's voice; 'Chris, are you awake?'

'Yeah,' he sighed, bringing himself to a sitting position. 'I'm awake.'

The door opened and she stepped inside. 'Wow,' her surprise was evident. 'You cleaned!'

'Yeah, well, I was hoping…' he paused, then barrelled on. 'I was hoping that I would find some clue as to what my life's been like these past years.'

Piper smiled sympathetically. 'I wish I knew what it was you went through in that other timeline, I really do, but you have to let it go, Chris, it never happened. This,' she motioned at his room, but he knew it was meant to encompass all the world, 'this is all that matters now.'

'I know, which would be why I'm so freaked out by not knowing what's happened here. You probably all have these expectations of me, like Penelope did- she was obviously disappointed to learn I never knew her.'

'No, that's not true, we all knew that adjustments would have to be made. We never expected you to come back exactly as you were before. You've done so much- there's no evil left to fight-'

He cut her off. 'There's always evil in the world, otherwise the world wouldn't need people like us.'

She sighed, 'I know, but just be glad your brother's not a part of it.'

'Believe me, I am.'

`

'You still scrying for Chris?' Piper asked offhandedly as she flipped through the book of shadows.

'Yes!' Paige snapped, irritated that she'd not found anything. She'd switched to a map of the world, and would have gone to a map of the planes but there were none in existence so she had to make due. Phoebe had, at her sisters' insistence, gone back to work.

'Why?'

'Because he's still missing?'

'Well, duh, but the elders are looking for him,'

'The 'elders' were looking for Leo, but it was still us who found him, on that weird Valhalla Island.'

'Point taken,' She closed the book suddenly. 'I'm going to go check on Wyatt, okay?'

'On that note, you sure we can trust that Patrick guy? I mean, you just met him at the park and all of a sudden he's like the babysitter from Heaven?'

'Sounds about right, see ya!' and she vanished through the door and down the stairs.

She walked into her son's room just as Patrick finished humming the last few bars of a lullaby. 'My Grams used to sing that to me,'

Patrick looked up, startled. 'Yes, my mom used to sing it to me.'

'Hmm, what a small world.' An inkling of doubt and suspicion came into her mind, but the man seemed to know it was there the second it appeared.

'Don't you trust me?' He asked, smiling.

'She stared at him, 'o-of course I do.'

'Good, then you know that it's going to be okay, right? All you have to do is separate yourself from Leo.'

'And I'm doing that, I just don't know why…'

'You can't risk having another kid right now- the child is what will turn Wyatt evil.'

'How do you know this?'

'You just have to trust me.'

For another moment, Piper looked doubtful, but then her eyes met Patrick's and she smiled. 'I'm going out now, okay?'

'Don't worry, I'll watch him.' The woman left, and Patrick turned to the baby beside him. 'Wouldn't want anything to happen to me, now would I? Now, let's see how corrupted you are…' And he placed a hand on Wyatt's forehead and a soft blue light encompassed the two.

Short update, I know, but this seemed like the right place to leave you hanging…


	4. Chapter Four

Thank you: X3, Cherry7up56, goldstranger, the proud Canadian, Makia, Chub, MerlinHalliwell, sj, shaz (don't worry about not having seen the more recent episodes, I have a habit of making sure things work despite such things, *smile*). Queen isa (sorry this update didn't come as soon as you hoped it would, but it's long so that should make up for it!), Magical Princess (lol, I like ramblings, I ramble all the time), piper+leo4eva.

Special Thanks to: Makia (again), Cherry7up56 (again), Nautica7mk, who reviewed chapter two but were missed in chapter 3's thanks.

****

'I don't understand why she's not worried, I mean, he's her son!' Paige was murmuring as she continued desperately to swing the crystal around the map.

'She doesn't know that.' Phoebe replied, her eyes drifting over to the movement of Paige's scrying even as she flipped the page in the Book of Shadows. 'Okay, stop that.' She crossed the room and took the crystal from her sister. 'It's not getting us anywhere anyway.

'I'm going out!' Piper called from downstairs.

Her sisters shared a look and hurried downstairs, not even noticing the sparkling shade of blue light that came from Wyatt's room.

'Hold on Missy, where are you going?'

Piper stared at them. 'Just… out. Shopping, maybe. I just need to get away from kids and magic for an hour or so, I'll be back-'

'I'm not so sure that's a good idea.' Phoebe said, and Paige nodded in agreement.

'Why not?'

'We may have a demon on the loose.'

'So, there are always demons on the loose. Call me when you know which one it is, okay?'

'What about this Patrick guy, how do we know he's not a demon?' Paige asked, crossing her arms.

Piper laughed. 'Patrick? A demon? No! He can't be, he can orb. Demons can't orb.'

'He can… orb?' Phoebe was thinking about the mysterious disappearance of the woman from earlier that day.

'Yeah, why?'

'You didn't think this little fact would be worth mentioning? Not even after I told you about the mysterious non-whitelighter that showed up this morning?'

'No…'

'Okay, now I definitely think you should stay here. Where is Patrick anyway?'

'He's up with Wyatt, why?'

'No, I'm right here, was there something I could do for you?' The trio turned to see the blond-haired man coming down the stairs.

'As a matter of fact, yes,' Paige began. 'You could answer a few questions.'

'Yes, like this one: did you happen to orb a young woman out of my office earlier this morning?'

The man looked startled, and it was some time before he said anything…

*

Chris sat in the sunroom, enjoying the peacefulness of it all. He had a small pain in his stomach but he assumed that was because he'd not really eaten much the night before. Penelope came in and sat down across from her cousin.

'Hello.' She greeted, cheerfully.

'Hey,' he replied.

She looked as though there was something she really wanted to ask him, but wasn't sure if she should. He hoped she would spit it out, as he had the feeling he knew what was coming. 'In your timeline, I was never born, was I?'

'No, well, not really, anyway.' She gave him a questioning look, so he went on. 'Aunt Phoebe was going to have a baby, but she was killed before it was born.' He paused again. 'She was also going to name it Prue,'

'My name is Prue.' Penelope replied instantly.

Chris stared, and the girl squirmed as though she'd been caught in a lie. 'Well, my middle name is, anyway. I… I should be going, mom said that I shouldn't bother you too much.' She grinned and hurried off. Chris watched her go, the first tendrils of suspicion entering his mind.

Penelope- Prue, whatever her name was, she never should have existed.

Even as this thought crossed his mind, the girl took another step towards the door of the room, and vanished.

A moment later, Phoebe walked in, saw him and began to back out, eager to give him some time alone. But he stood up, 'Aunt Phoebe, Penelope-' there were no words for it. How did you tell someone that her daughter had just disappeared into think air? It was worse than telling his mom that Wyatt would one day be evil.

'Penelope?' She asked, her face an expression of complete blankness.

'Yes, your daughter, she-'

'Chris, I don't have a daughter, you know that!'

'What?'

And his aunt's face was suddenly serious. 'Look, I know you're going through a hard time but that's no reason to bring up other people's ghosts. You might not know this, but for future reference, we don't talk about the miscarriage, okay?'

Before he could respond, she hurried off, one hand covering her eyes.

*

'So, she was your… sister?' Phoebe didn't sound convinced. There was something about the man that made her uneasy. Plus, she couldn't pick up any emotions from him.

'Yes, most disturbed. She has an illness,'

'Yes, you told us.' Paige didn't sound like she believed him, either.

Piper sighed. 'Are you two satisfied now? I'd really like to go…'

'No, we're not finished here!' Paige declared, but it was no use, Piper was already out the door.

Patrick turned to the two remaining sisters. 'You won't be able to turn her against me, I can promise you that.'

Phoebe stared at him. 'Fine, but tell us the truth. It doesn't seem like she'll believe us anyway.'

A grin seeped onto his face, one that looked decidedly evil. 'Oh, but where's the fun in that?' He stood to head upstairs, and Phoebe wanted nothing more than to stop him, but she just sat there, staring dumbly. He looked over at her, making direct eye contact as he said; 'Don't you trust me?' And he left.

'That was weird…' Phoebe muttered.

'What?'

'For a moment, I could have sworn I'd seen him somewhere before.'

'Yeah, earlier today.' Paige was sceptical.

'No, before that… like I know him.'

'So, what do we do now?' 

Phoebe shrugged. 'I have no idea.'

*

Piper walked down the street, away from the mansion. She hadn't even bothered with her car. What was the point? She didn't even know where she was going.

What was wrong with Phoebe and Paige? Couldn't they just be happy that she'd found someone who was able and willing to look after Wyatt when she couldn't? Leo had his own priorities, he needed his hands free to take care of them. But no, all they could do was worry about Chris.

Not, of course, that she wasn't a little concerned for her whitelighter, but Paige had been scrying for hours and there was no sign- they were _never_ going to find him. Besides, it seemed that they had made a mistake in trusting the young man. If what Patrick had said was true…

*

'Mom, do you remember Penelope?'

Piper gave her youngest son a funny look. 'Was she a friend of yours?'

'No, she was Phoebe's daughter, she was here, and then she just… vanished.'

'You must have imagined something. Phoebe doesn't have a daughter.'

'So I keep hearing.'

'Look, you go out into the living room, someone's been wanting to talk to you.'

Reluctantly, he walked away, his mind reeling. How could they not remember?

'Kirra?' Chris slowly approached the young woman. He had known her for what seemed like forever, but she had been killed only three weeks before he'd left for the past. She'd died to save Bianca.

She looked up at him and smiled. 'I was starting to think you didn't know who I was.'

He returned the smile, but it was weak and feeble. 'No, it's just… weird, you know? I mean…'

'I don't think I want to hear this.'

'You died.'

'I was right, I don't.'

He looked at her square in the eye, a sudden unease coming to him. She didn't seem at all surprised to hear this news. 'Kirra, do you remember Penelope?'

'Your cousin? Of course I do, why?'

'She vanished earlier today.'

The woman suddenly seemed most uncomfortable. 'Really? That's uh… that's weird.'

__

This isn't right he thought, searching for a suitable response.

'You're right, Chris, this isn't right.' Her gaze met his dead-on as she said this, and her eyes glazed over with blue. 'Don't let the lies hold you here.'

'What are you saying?' But before she could answer, she followed in Penelope's footsteps, and faded out of sight.

'Bravo, little brother, I see your perception has improved. I thought it would take you a little longer before you discovered what was going on.'

Chris turned to see Wyatt standing on the stairs, his bright blue eyes bearing nothing but malice towards his younger brother.

Hehe, another cliff-hanger. Sorry about that, but I promise another update tomorrow evening. Weather or not Fan-Fiction.net gets it up by tomorrow evening is another matter. Either way, you'll have it by Saturday. Wow, now I'm rambling. Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter Five

Sorry for the lateness, I know I promised it yesterday, but my computer wouldn't let me. Anyway, here it is- enjoy! I've thanked my oh-so-dedicated reviewers at the bottom.

`

****

Chris was frozen. He couldn't feel his legs; even if he could, he would have bet that he wouldn't have been able to move them. Slowly, his racing mind managed to pull together the few words he needed. 'What are you talking about?'

'Haven't you figured that out yet?'

'What have you done to me?' He hated it when Wyatt answered his questions with another question. He just wanted to get himself out of whatever weird dimension his brother had put him in.

But Wyatt only laughed. 'What have I done? Oh, dear brother, I haven't done anything. I'm not real, none of this is real, this is all an illusion.'

'But you created it.'

'Me? No, not me. You.' Wyatt paused. 'So this is your idea of a perfect world? No evil, no worries? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, Chris, but no matter how hard you try, you're never going to create a world that's even close to this. You can't have a side of good if you don't have evil. Ever think of that?'

'I know that,'

'Then you'll understand what I'm about to say next; you're the reason I fight with the side of evil.' A grin spread across the man's face and he walked over to his younger brother. 'You offset the balance, killing so many demons. A powerful source of darkness needed to appear, and I was just so conveniently there…'

'No, that can't be true,'

A look that came very close to pity crossed Wyatt's face, but it was a mocking pity, and not a pleasant expression. 'My, you really do live in denial, don't you? You could never accept the fact that our parents loved me more than you, and-'

'You know that's a lie, you just needed more attention.'

'Ha! You really believe that? You're even more gullible than I thought.' He paused. 'Then again, I suppose we always knew that you were a little slow, a little weak. You really think that you'll be able to keep me on the 'right' side? Ha! You don't even know what you're doing! Your entire life has been a series of lucky guesses and good timing, but this isn't a game, Chris, when you screw up you don't go back to start- and we all know you're going to screw up.'

Chris wasn't even aware he'd moved, but he suddenly found himself right in front of his older brother, and his fist was swinging through the air towards Wyatt's head. But it never made impact, as Wyatt easily, effortlessly, raised his hand and blocked the punch.

'Really, Chris, what did you expect that to accomplish? You think you can hurt me? ' He smiled, but there was nothing kind about it, and he rammed his fist into Chris' stomach, forcing the younger boy to the ground. 'You think that you can go back in time and just make everything right? You, who's presence split up mom and dad- twice? Think again!'

Chris' gut was on fire, but he forced himself to at least try to stand up. 'This isn't real.' He murmured.

'Does it matter?' Wyatt asked, and the answer was plain. No, it didn't matter, because the pain was there, and he couldn't escape it. Chris had managed to get both feet under him, but as he pushed himself into a standing position, his brother kicked them out from under him. 'Ah, this brings back memories, doesn't it?' He asked.

'No.' Chris spat, struggling once more to his feet.

'You're right, before, you've never put up this much of a fight. You were always too weak to stand up for yourself.' He didn't wait for Chris to get up this time before delivering a sharp kick to the side of his head.

Chris spat blood out of his mouth, astonished that no teeth had been knocked out of place.

'God, Chris, you really are a pathetic excuse for a Halliwell. You just can't stand that I am stronger, more powerful than you, can you?'

'Wha 'oes hat have o do wih anyhing?' it hurt to talk, he figured Wyatt had broken his jaw.

'Everything, now get up.' Chris looked up at his brother from his position on the floor. 'I said get _up_.'

Chris continued to stare at his brother, but his gaze was slowly drifting past him, towards the back wall where various portraits were hanging. If none of this was real, then Piper certainly couldn't get mad at him for breaking one or two of them.

Lifting his arm, he swung it and one of the pictures flew off of the wall and hit the back of Wyatt's head.

'You can't win,' he said, pulling his hand away from the place where the glass had shattered; it was covered in blood. 'Your fate has already been sealed.'

Chris spat up another wad of blood as he stood up. 'We'll see about that.' He blinked, and his eyes opened up onto the all-too-familiar ceiling of his room. His jaw was still killing him, and there was a dull pain in his gut.

*

Patrick stared down at the helpless baby, whose eyes he had once stared up from. He could remember looking out of those delicate blue beads, seeing his mother's face, his father's smile. He had loved them with perfect innocence, but one can't grow up in a world of evil and still keep that childish outlook. He'd needed to become cold, hard. It was the only way to deal with it all. It had been hard, turning away from those who would have tried to comfort him- but comfort was the last thing he had needed. 

Patrick stared down at the helpless baby, and he realized with a sudden surge of emotion what it was that his little brother was trying to save. Smiling grimly, he picked the child up from its cradle and orbed out of the room.

He materialized in a small cavern, lit only by a small fire, behind which a young woman sat, staring at a corner of the room that was untouched by the glow of the firelight. However, Patrick could still make out the weak form of his brother, who lay sprawled on a blanket, a bloody wound in his stomach from where the darklighter's arrow had hit. He averted his gaze, unable to look at the broken form.

'How is he?' Patrick asked of the woman.

Kirra looked up at him and shook her head. 'It won't be long now, he's started having seizures.' She seemed about as happy about it as Patrick was. 'Wyatt, are you sure there's no other way to do this?' She asked.

The man placed the baby gently on the ground and sighed. 'If there was, don't you think I'd be doing it? I've given Chris many chances to take my side, but he still insists on working against me, insists that I can 'be saved'. I can't have him in the way anymore.'

'Fine, then can't we just kill him now, save him the pain?'

'No, not if there's still a chance I won't have to. What of his delusions?'

'He kicked me out, intent on believing I was dead. I don't know where things went from there.'

Patrick thought about this a moment. 'Well, maybe it's better that way. We wouldn't want him to die knowing you betrayed him, would we?'

'No, we wouldn't.'

'Alright, come on, if we're going to set my past self on the right path, we're going to have to do it now.' Patrick announced.

*

Well, there you have it. Another rather short update, but I quite like it.

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Random insane person ~ I'm glad you're enjoying the fic, and who knows? Your idea just might be closer to the truth than you realize!

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Magical Princess ~ Sorry about the cliffhanger, this one ended a little less on the edge, right?

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PeAnUtBuTTeR aNd JeLLy ~ I'd tell you if you're right or not, but that would spoil things. 

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Emma15 ~ He doesn't necessarily hate Chris, but his morals and feeling have been twisted around… there was a bit about that in this chapter.

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Black Ice ~ What sort of points do you think I should expand on? I'd really like to know, improve my writing as much as possible.

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cherry7up56 ~ I'm very glad you're getting into it, *smile* I write for all of you.

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Nautica7mk ~ And the mind games only get more complicated.

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Laheara ~ I'm impressed, you've got a good portion of things figured out, hehe, maybe I'll have to put in a few more catches to see if you can spot them, too. 

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goldstranger ~ lol, I know what you mean. It took me ages to figure out which possibility I should follow. I think you'll like the one I settled on…

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shaz ~ Oh, do tell me you went to work, I'd hate to think I kept you away from making money, lol


	6. Chapter Six

Sorry it's taken so long for me to update, but I felt the need to re-write this chapter a few times.

He couldn't understand it. If his encounter with Wyatt had been a dream, why did he still feel the pain of the fight? Chris' mind raced with the effort of trying to find an answer, and it wasn't until his door opened a crack that he realized someone had been knocking.

Bianca's head peeked inside. 'Chris, are you all right? It's past noon…'

When Chris didn't answer, she took it upon herself to come in and sit down at the end of the bed. 'We've been worried about you,' she said.

Chris tried to smile, reassuringly, 'I'm fine, I've just been thinking…' he lied.

'About what?'

He gave a silent sigh, irritated that she felt the need to pry. 'Bianca, I really need to be alone right now, okay?'

She looked hurt, and he couldn't help but regret his harsh words. 'I'm your fiancée, Chris, there was a time you would have told me these things.'

'I think we both know that things are going to take some time to settle down. In the meantime… just don't force anything.'

She reached out and brushed a stray lock of his dark hair behind his ear. 'We shouldn't have to force it-' He wasn't sure why, but he pulled away from her touch. 'What's wrong?'

'This isn't right, I know it isn't…' His vision began to ripple, as though he was looking at a reflection in a pool of water. A sudden and uncharacteristic wave of claustrophobia hit him- he needed to get out, and soon. Without pausing to think, he ran from the room, down the stairs, and out the door.

*

'The first trial is complete,' Wyatt declared, bending over to pick up his child-self from the hard stone floor. 'Both he and I will need to rest before the next. I will return to the sisters- you stay here and watch him.'

Kirra nodded and watched as her master orbed out of the cave. She then knelt down next to her friend and daubed a wet cloth over his sweaty forehead.

__

It was just the three of them, sitting in a dark room as they quietly whispered of ways they could unseat Wyatt from his chair of power. Chris and Bianca sat on one side of the shaded space, their hands clasped as a sign of their newly discovered love. Kirra was on the other, playing the part of the supportive best friend, when in truth she would have given the world to be Bianca right at that moment.

'It'll never work,' Bianca was saying, in regards to Kirra's suggestion. 'We'd never get close enough to bind his powers.'

'There is a way,' Chris began, but the sudden appearance of a lower-level demon forced him to cut himself off.

'The master would like to speak with you,' he said, his gaze fixed on Kirra.

The young woman glanced over at her two friends, who were both staring fixedly at her. Chris slowly nodded and she stood, prepared to go wherever the demon needed to take her.

Moments later, she stood before a tall man with sandy blond hair. She hastily knelt on the floor.

'There is no need for formalities between us, Kirra, stand up,' Wyatt said, in such a way that Kirra instantly knew he wanted something from her. Nonetheless, she did as she was asked. 'Now, that's better, isn't it?'

'Is there some way I can serve you, master?'

A rather sickening smile crossed the man's lips, and Kirra dreaded whatever it was he was prepared to say. 'As a matter of fact, there is,' his smile broadened, and he took a seat by a small table of refreshments, then motioned for her to follow suit. 'I know he's turned against me,' he continued, all traces of amusement gone from his face. Kirra knew better than to interrupt. 'My own, dear brother, corrupted by his own weakness. I should have known better… but, there is still a chance that he may be saved- with your help of course.' All this time he had been stirring some sort of exotic drink.

'I'm not sure I understand.'

'Well, that can easily be remedied.' He turned now to address Kirra directly. 'Help me rid this world of Bianca- for I'm sure she is as much a nuisance to you as she is to me- and save my dear brother's life.'

'Why would you want to kill Bianca?'

Wyatt sighed, exasperated, 'because if she's gone then I can hope my brother will give up this misguided crusade of his and continue about the path I have so lovingly laid out for him- meaning I won't have to kill him.'

'And if he seeks revenge?'

'He'll have no idea you helped- I promise you that, and he'll never manage to get close enough to me to do any harm.'

Kirra stared at the floor for a long moment before replying. 'What can I do?'

A spasm of pain ran through Chris' body as Kirra sat there, remembering. Without warning, she got to her feet. 'I'm sorry, Chris, I betrayed you once already. I won't do it again.' She left the cave, pausing only to glance reluctantly back at the ravaged body of the only person she had ever truly loved.

*

Paige sat alone in the attic, having sent Phoebe back to work until there was something more to be done. Her orange head rested in her pale fingers, tired, exhausted, and worried about her nephew. There was a creak over by the door, and she looked up to see a young woman looking severely scared stepping into the attic.

'Who are you?' Paige demanded, instantly, jumping up and preparing for the worst.

The woman pressed a nervous finger to her lips. 'If he finds me, I'm dead.' She said.

'If who finds you?'

'My master… I tried to warn your sister about him, but he caught me before I could. He is an evil man, Paige, and you and your sisters are in danger from him- especially Piper.'

'Hold on, how do you know our names?'

The stranger shook her head. 'There's no time! He's so close… Chris is in danger, he's dying. We're in the magic school, a forgotten part of it… I have to go!' She glanced fearfully around.

'Wait, why is Piper in more danger than the rest of us?!'

'Because of who she has not yet birthed.' and before Paige could ask another question, the strange woman left the room in a strange shimmer of gold and green.

'Drat it, and I only just got Phoebe to go back to work, too.' She was, however, happy to have at least a bit more information- depressing as it was.

And, of course, the reviewers:

Anaxandra ~ Glad you're enjoying it!

NumberoneAdamfan ~ You really like the x-men comics, don't you (gee, wonder why that is?) Oh, and don't say Anywho- or toodles. lol Why french toast?

AJS ~ Of course Wyatt still cares for Chris, I couldn't tear them apart…

cherry7up56 ~ Sorry the update took so long, but I hope you think it was good.

Lonely N Fading ~ Chapter six, as promised.

Magical Princess ~ It took a while, but here's your next chapter!

PentagonMerlin ~ I'd like to think that something of what is coming up is unpredictable, but then again, it's probably not.

Black Ice ~ Yes, I was a little nervous about putting in too much detail for the first few chapters, mainly because I didn't want to give too much away, ya know?

shaz ~ Yeah, I liked those two parts, too, and I'm glad you went to work- it can't hurt to come home early… can it?

the proud canadian ~ Oh, Chris will get his chance, don't worry *plotting grin* And you're right, you did say that Wyatt was still evil, lol

goldstranger ~ Kirra's complicated, there'll be a few more flashbacks explaining her.

desert angel ~ Yes, Wyatt still loves his brother, and there's much more about that to come, too.

Taynna ~ I think this chapter answered most of your questions, *grin* And I agree, most authors make Wyatt far too direct- I figure he'd be subtle and stealthy- brains, not brawn (though I bet, if it came down to it, he could easily switch tactics)

X3 ~ Yeah, I can't believe I made things move so quickly- this is a miracle for me!

Queen isa ~ Sorry I missed you in the last chapter! And Chris didn't mean to create two worlds-but when his consciousness started to find discrepancies in the world he'd almost accepted as reality, it started to fall apart, you see? I'm still working on how that's going to come out in the story, which is why I told you. Oh, was that enough Chris/Bianca for you? I tried, I really did, but I like focusing on his relationship with his family a little more…

AK8 ~ I tried to get it up sooner, but I hope I didn't make you wait too long…

Random insane person ~ You didn't miss anything, this happened before the story opened- meaning he was already dreaming when he was sitting on the bridge and Wyatt came to get him. I love Chris stories too, *grin* He was on the Wyane Brady show the other day- Drew Fuller is so cool! (My sister loves talk shows, which is the only reason I knew about this)

piper+leo4eva ~ Hope you liked this chapter as much, *smile*


	7. Chapter Seven

**He thought of going to his and Bianca's 'place', but knew she'd find him there. Instead, he ran aimless through the streets, found him self in a deserted alleyway, and orbed to the San-Francisco Bridge. Not the most creative location, but at least he wouldn't be found. Not here. Only Leo would think to look for him here – and Leo was gone.  
  
It was only with these thoughts that Chris began to wonder where his dad actually was. If he really had created this world, then surely his family would have been whole... together.  
  
His stomach still ached, and his jaw was very definitely broken. Pain raced through his body, and he felt as though his guts were spilling out onto the metal beams of the bridge. He clutched his abdomen, desperate for it to stop. Desperate for the pain to go away. Desperate for his head to stop spinning, and his jaw to stop aching. Desperate... simply desperate.  
  
What the hell was going on here? What was real? Had Penelope been real? Had any of it? Chris shook his head in frustration, which only made the world spin faster. Losing his balance, he tumbled towards the rushing river below.  
  
He didn't feel the impact, had passed out long before he'd hit. He woke in a dim cave-like room. Candles were lit and the smell of incense was thick upon the air. His eyes opened on to Kirra's face, as she looked worriedly down at him. She dabbed his forehead with a wet cloth, and muttered words that his bleary mind couldn't make out for the first few seconds.  
  
'...alright, I promise.' She didn't seem to realize he was awake, so she just kept muttering. 'If you'd only let me back in... then I could explain. I could explain everything. But don't worry. They're on their way. They'll find you, Chris. They'll save...' Her voice trailed off as Chris drifted once more into the dream. He was lying on his bed, the covers drawn up around his soaking body. Piper and his aunts sat around him, wearing the same expression that had been on Kirra's face.  
  
'What happened?' He asked groggily.  
  
Piper smiled down at him. 'You fell into the river – it was a good thing we knew were you were! Paige orbed in and rescued you. We were so worried...' She was babbling. His mother never babbled. Chris decided that it must have been his way of making it seem as though she had been genuinely concerned. Another aspect of the impossible perfection of this life.  
  
'Where's Kirra?' He asked, then went on before the puzzled expressions could turn into questions. 'Kirra, blue eyes, red curls. She EXISTS. I need to talk to her...'  
  
There was a knock at the door, and Kirra's voice sounded through the wood. The sisters shared a look, then let the girl in and, with some prompting from Chris, left them alone.  
  
'I knew you could do it, Chris.' She said, taking the seat Phoebe had, until a moment ago, occupied.  
  
'It's really you, right? Not some dream or hallucination?' She nodded. 'Then tell me what the hell is going on!' He sat up, despite the fiery pain in his stomach.  
  
'You've been hit by a darklighter's arrow. Wyatt did it.' Her face fell, as though she'd just reported some terrible news. 'I think he might really let you die, Chris. He says that this is your last chance to see that what he is doing is right.'  
  
Chris only nodded, taking it in. 'And all this?'  
  
'Dreams created by your own mind with the help of a spell. They're to keep you from seeing what's really going on. Chris, I'm going to help you get out of this. Wyatt's gone to far this time.'  
  
Again, he nodded. 'That night in the alleyway, when the demon came after us and you... died?'  
  
'I didn't die. Wyatt didn't want me dead yet. I suffered for that night, though. For saving Bianca. He was so angry!'  
  
'Tell me what happened.'  
  
'Chris, now's not really the time.'  
  
'Tell me!'  
  
'Remember that day, when that demon came to take me to your brother?' Chris nodded solemnly, perhaps knowing what was coming.  
  
Kirra was escorted back to her home, where she called Bianca and told her that Wyatt wanted to see both of them that evening, at 10 o'clock, sharp. He was going to meet them in an alley, and had given her the address. Naturally, Bianca suspected a trap, and Kirra agreed with her whole- heartedly.  
  
'But what can we do? If we don't show up, then he'll know for certain that we've been working against him, and he won't have any problem hunting us down!' She argued, logically. 'We have no choice but to take our chances.'  
  
'Right. I'll meet you there then.'  
  
The two of them met, as ordered, in the designated alley. Almost as soon as they showed up, a man appeared with a burst of flames. Kirra ducked as the first fireball came wiping towards them, and Bianca blocked it, easily. The second didn't come with as much luck, and it struck the woman in the shoulder. Bianca fell back against the wall, then began to struggle to her feet. By then, a third projectile was heading towards her. Without warning, Kirra threw herself in front of the attack, taking the hit herself and doing the one thing Wyatt had asked her NOT to do. He orbed her out just in time, but the blue lights were concealed by the fire ball's explosion.  
  
'Why?' Chris asked when she was done. 'Why did you change your mind?'  
  
Kirra shrugged. 'It was the right thing to do.' She replied vaguely. 'I have to go – your brother's back from his visit with your family.' And, just like that, her image dissolved into nothingness.**

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roswell26 I'm happy you like it!

buffspike I'm glad you decided to review, and doubly glad that you're enjoying it!

Dev Sorry it took so long, I've been somewhat stuck on how to go about this next bit. Hope you enjoyed it!

Shaz Drew Fuller was actually quite a funny guy on the talk show, and yes, that's him in the calling video. That's really all we've seen of him, too, so we're almost as much in the dark as you! I'm glad you like Kirra, I worked hard on her.

Black Ice lol, don't worry, I sometimes sound like a teacher too, g.

Queen Isa I loved Drew on the show, he's so cute!

The Last Hope I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, I find it hard to find good Chris fic, too.

Devonny It took a while, but I'm back!

cherry7up56 Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much!

AK8 I'm glad you think so.

X3 She will… eventually, g

Nautica7mk I'm glad you think it makes sense, I was worried that it wouldn't. This chapter was a little longer, but still a little short (I think)

Random insane person Yes, poor Sexy Chris. I feel bad for him – and I wrote it. A part of me wishes I could take it all back, but then there'd be no story.

the proud canadian Sorry it took so long, but I'll do my best to get the next chapter up soon!


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